A team of researchers discovered a species of large, hairy-looking tarantula (of the genus Trichopelma grande) in the Viñales National Park, in the westernmost part of Cuba, according to a study published in the Journal of Natural History.
The research, carried out by David Ortiz, from Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, and Elier Fonseca, from the Zoological Society of Cuba, showed that the body of the new species of hairy spider measures about 2.54 centimeters wide.
The first specimen of this spider was found in 2008, but it was not until almost ten years later that researchers confirmed that it was a new species, according to the study.
According to the scientific article, they found four specimens of Trichopelma within a short distance of each other in the Viñales National Park, a protected area located in the province of Pinar del Río.
| #CienciaDL | Los científicos concluyeron que al parecer la nueva especie no aparece en las colecciones de historia natural de Cuba
https://t.co/te1tUxYEnv#DiarioLibre #Científicos #Cuba #Tarántula pic.twitter.com/62pH7uzAAY
— Diario Libre (@DiarioLibre) November 26, 2024
The scientists concluded that the new species apparently does not appear in Cuba’s natural history collections, despite its “striking” appearance.
The authors suggested that “the new species is not arboreal” because they collected the spiders in burrows in the ground and not in trees.
According to the article, it is likely to have a “generalist feeding behavior and a mild sting, less potent than that of a bee.”
Another result of the research is that the distribution of the new spiders is “restricted,” which is why they are a “conservation priority.”
